something I wish weren't true really is

I've never been one to celebrate the alleged mysteries of the discipline of Advertising. Because, really, what we do is not difficult.

But that doesn't mean that just anyone can string a couple of words together and get hired as a copywriter. There is real precision in what we do, both in terms of the craft of executing an ad, and in terms of selling it. And most people who think that they could be writers or art designers, while they may be very good at messing around with colours, words or shapes, just don't get the precision that's required.

Which means that it's really hard to walk in off the street and nail a job at an ad agency.

I wish this weren't true. I didn't go to copywriting or design school; I did an English Lit degree, and fell into this marketing pit. Many of the people I like working with have other backgrounds and interests that make them not just interesting creatives, but interesting people. It's tough to get that breadth if you graduate from high school and go straight into a program at Humber or Seneca.

But that program is also how you know what ad agencies really need. It's where you learn how they think, how you need to think, and you get a sense of how to work with a brief, and present your work. And these days, there are so many promising newcomers who have taken college ad programs that, no matter how much raw talent you have, it's virtually impossible to come into an agency cold – without college training – and be as good as those who have.

That's not to say that, if you don't have college ad training, it's a waste of time to approach a CD and have her or him look at your book. It isn't. But I've learned that you can't expect that CD to hire you, or say much of anything beyond get yourself into a college program.

An advertising program isn't technically a prerequisite to getting a job. But it may as well be.